Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Mansoor Ijaz Links with Mr. Nawaz Sharif & Kamran Khan.

ISLAMABAD: The man at the centre of the Memogate scandal currently rocking Pakistani politics, Mansoor Ijaz, is expected to arrive at Chaklala Airbase on 24th January. Reports said that Ijaz received his visa is is expected to arrive in Pakistan and give his testimony to the Supreme Court in the Memogate scandal. Ijaz will also be given high-level security during his stay in the country. It was decided that he would be provided security by the army upon his arrival in the country. Ijaz allegedly says that he was being threatened by the government. REFERENCE: Mansoor Ijaz recieves visa, expected to arrive on 24th January http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/mansoor-ijaz-recieves-visa-expected-to-arrive-on-24th-january.html

Islamabad: A music video featuring businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the memo scandal, and scantily clad female wrestlers has been creating a buzz among Pakistani users of social networking and micro-blogging websites. The video for DJ and remixer Junior Jack's 2007 hit song 'Stupidisco', which features Ijaz as a commentator at a female wrestling competition, was posted on Twitter late on Tuesday night. It was subsequently shared by Pakistani users at other social networking websites. The video for a song with a pulsating backbeat, which reached the number 20 slot in the UK singles charts, has Ijaz commenting on a wrestling match between two wrestlers named "Ms Double D" and "Nasty Nasty". At one stage, he is heard saying: "Look at that, we've got some real tumbling going on here". Ijaz laughs and describes the action at the match, saying, "Ms Double D's got the take down, she's on top. She's the reigning world champion. Oh she's giving it to her good now". As some users of Twitter raised questions about the authenticity of the video, one enterprising blogger even tracked down an even racier making-of video that showed Ijaz participating in the shoot for the music video. Ijaz created a storm in Pakistan's political circles and triggered a confrontation between the civilian government and the military after he made public what he claimed was a memo that had sought US help to stave off a possible coup after the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in May last year. The Pakistani-American businessman failed to make a scheduled appearance before a Supreme Court-appointed commission that is probing the memo issue on January 16. The commission has now directed Ijaz to appear before it on January 24. Media reports on Wednesday said Ijaz had been issued a visa by the Pakistani Embassy in Switzerland and would fly from London to a military airbase in Rawalpindi on January 24. Ijaz's appearance in the music video also generated jokes in the virtual world. Cafe Pyala, a leading Pakistani blog, referred to the video and said in a post: "Some new evidence has come to light related to 'Memogate' that we think should be placed in front of the commission investigating whether any crime was committed..." REFERENCE: Video featuring Mansoor Ijaz creates Internet buzz Pakistan | Posted on Jan 18, 2012 at 03:17pm IST http://ibnlive.in.com/news/video-featuring-mansoor-ijaz-creates-internet-buzz/221997-56.html

It was unclear why the wrestling video, which was made in 2004 and has been viewed for years on the Internet, came to light only now. Ijaz’s role was apparently spotted by a blogger late Tuesday and spread quickly through social media. Ijaz told The Associated Press he thought the video’s emergence was part of an effort by Haqqani to discredit him ahead of his testimony but conceded he had no evidence of this. He confirmed that the video was not a hoax. Ijaz appears in two versions of the same video for “Stupidisco,” a house music track by Italian producer Junior Jack that was a club hit in 2004. One clip features bikini-clad women wrestlers ‘Double D’ and ‘Nasty Nancy,’ who end up grappling on a mat in a sexually provocative fashion. The other is the same until the final 30 seconds, when the women remove each other’s clothes. Ijaz’s scenes and dialogue feature in both versions. “She’s giving it to her good now! You’ve got some real tumbling going on here. Nancy’s got that mean look,” he says, as the two women wrestle in front of him. At one point, Ijaz’s eyes widen and his mouth gapes as the video cuts to the women ripping each other’s bikinis off. REFERENCE: American at center of scandal threatening Pakistan’s president shown in naked wrestling video By Associated Press, Published: January 18 | Updated: Thursday, January 19, 12:03 AM http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistani-prime-ministers-lawyer-says-no-harm-in-reopening-graft-case-against-president/2012/01/18/gIQAfk5P7P_story.html?tid=sm_btn_tw

ISLAMABAD: Memogate is likely to take new turns as chances of Mansoor Ijaz visiting Pakistan have brightened after he got surety from Hamid Ashgar Kidwai, one of the central characters in Mehrangate. After meeting a top intelligence official in Dubai, Kidwai assured, on behalf of the Pakistani establishment, Ijaz’s safe return after witnessing in person before the Judicial Commission on Memo case. It was Kidwai who engaged Akram Sheikh Advocate as lawyer for Mansoor Ijaz and secured power of attorney from the latter, well-placed sources told Online on Tuesday. According to sources close to Kidwai, former Executive Director of Mehran Bank in Peshawar and currently based in Dubai has formally accepted the role as intermediary between Mansoor Ijaz and Pakistani establishment. “It is obvious that cash-memo is now directly involved in the Memogate, as people like Mansoor, and Kidwai hardly move without money,” the sources observed. The sources were of the view that the establishment was out to leave no stone unturned in making sure that Ijaz appears before the Commission appointed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. “The establishment seems loosing the case in case the prime witness that goes this time in their favor does or could not appear before the Commission,” they added. A section of press reported last year that Federal Investigation Agency had been forcing the Mehran Bank authorities in the past to register a case against Hamid Asghar Kidwai for stealing documents in question regarding the political bribes from the 1990 to 1994. Despite playing at the heart of the Mehrangate, Kidwai got lucrative position during Musharraf’s regime when he remained High Commissioner and Permanent Representative of Pakistan at the United Nations Environment Programme in 2003-2004. Even after the restoration of democracy in 2008, Kidwai enjoyed the status of Roving Ambassador until Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gailani sacked him with two others from the same position on February 11, 2009. The Mehran Bank scandal also known as Mehrangate, was a major political scandal in the history of Pakistan between 1990-1994 in which senior politicians and political parties were found to have been bribed by Pakistan Army and intelligence officers, from ISI, to prevent the re-election and to destabilize the government of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Initiated by Pakistan Army’s Chief of Army Staff General Mirza Aslam Beg with the alleged support of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan payments of up to Rs 140 million were made by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General Lieutenant-General Asad Durrani and Corps of Engineers Engineer-in-Chief Lieutenant-General Javed Nasir via the owner of Mehran Bank Yunus Habib. Intelligence funds were deposited in Mehran Bank in 1992 propping up what was an insolvent bank as a favor for its owner’s help in loaning money to the Inter-Services Intelligence in 1990 that was used in the creation of the right wing alliance Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) and bankrolling the campaigns of many opponents of the PPP. The scandal subsequently broke after the new ISI Director-General Lieutenant-General Javed Ashraf Qazi decided to transfer the intelligence fund back to state owned banks as per official rules. Mehran Bank was unable to return the money due to its poor financial state and collapsed. It was later discovered that large sums had been siphoned off to 39 fictitious parties. In 1995, Mehran Bank was amalgamated with the National Bank and in 1996 the NBP had to make full provision for Mehran’s liabilities which resulted in a net loss that year to the bank of Rs 1.260 billion.[1] On April 20, 1994, giving details about the payments made by Mr Habib to generals, politicians and political parties, the then Interior Minister, Naseerullah Babar, told the National Assembly that the main beneficiary of his largesse was former army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg who received Rs140 million.[2] Yunus Habib was arrested on April 7, 1994 for misappropriation in the sale proceeds of the Dollar Bearer Certificates. On Dec 14, 1995, Younus Habib was convicted of fraud and embezzlement and given a sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment by the Special Court for Offences in Banks in Sindh. REFERENCE: Mamogate links Mehrangate, Mansoor gets Kidwai’s surety to visit Pakistan Wednesday 18th January, 2012 http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=188235

Mansoor Ijaz Memo and contents of his Interview to the CNN should be believed in letter and spirit because what Mansoor Ijaz has said in CNN Interview has already been said by Mr. Kamran Khan way back in 1994 in Washington Post, The News International, has been repeated and quoted by Ardeshir Cowasjee in 2002 then 2007 and then in 2008 and 2009. Kamran Khan has not only wrote about that but also had done an Excellent Program in 2009 regarding some of the baseless allegations by Mansoor Ijaz.

The indefatigable old warrior of our skies is wounded, as sorely wounded as any father of 81 years of age who has tragically lost his eldest son, himself a father, under the most mysterious and peculiar of circumstances, a son endowed with much talent and intelligence with a future before him even brighter than his past. For this great tragedy that has struck him, his endearing wife, and his family, we can but express our most sincere condolences. As an old-time officer and a gentleman to his fingertips, as an honest man of moderate means, and as a man who genuinely wished to do good by the poverty-stricken, uneducated of this country, there was no way, no way at all, that Air Marshal Asghar Khan could succeed as a politician of Pakistan, given the environment, the atmosphere that prevails and the mindset of the majority. On July 15, The Nation printed a column written by the air marshal on 'The anatomy of politics', the first of a series he intends to write on the subject. He recounted how in the era of Field Marshal Ayub Khan he spearheaded a movement with the intent to have Zulfikar Ali Bhutto released from jail. When he was released, Bhutto suggested that Asghar join him in his campaign to destroy Ayub Khan. What would be Zulfikar's programme and policy once Ayub was removed, Asghar asked. Zulfikar, unabashed and completely frank, answered 'My programme is to fool the people. They are fools, and I know how to make a fool of them. Join me and we will rule for twenty years. No one will be able to remove us.' Not being familiar with politics and politicians in those early years, a naive Asghar was genuinely shocked and his response was that he would oppose Bhutto and his politics as best as he could. But the main thrust of his column was the human rights petition filed by him in the Supreme Court (HRC 19/96) against the retired COAS General Mirza Mohammad Aslam Beg, the former ISI chief retired Lt General Asad Durrani and Younis Habib of Habib and Mehran Banks, relating to the disbursement of public money and its misuse for political purposes, which is still pending hearing by the court. The case was initiated by the air marshal after Benazir Bhutto's interior minister, another retired general, Naseerullah Babar, had disclosed in the National Assembly in 1994 how the ISI had disbursed funds to purchase the loyalty of politicians and public figures so as to manipulate the 1990 elections, form the IJI, and bring about the defeat of the PPP. The old warrior has amazingly still not lost hope. He somehow feels that ultimately justice must prevail. The matter of the involvement of the Inter-Services Intelligence and other intelligence agencies in the manipulation of politics and the disbursement of the people's money for that purpose is by no means over nor has it, apparently, even abated. Nothing, with regard to the dubious activities of our so-called agencies has changed since 1994 and I now relate a story of those days. The ISI is, right now, at its old games, spending our money and 'fixing' our future, particularly in the province of Sindh where its interference and placements bode ill. In September of 1994 Kamran Khan of The News and The Washington Post came calling. He told me how earlier that year he had asked for an appointment with the then leader of the opposition, Nawaz Sharif, to interview him on his relationship with the army and the security services whilst he was prime minister. He was asked to go to Lahore and meet the Mian. When on May 16 Kamran arrived at Nawaz's Model Town house, there was an army of men equipped with bulldozers demolishing the security fences and structures Nawaz had built on adjoining land, not his to build upon (akin to those built around Karachi's Bilawal House). The breakers had been on the job since dawn. Kamran found Nawaz angry but composed. He was amply plied and refreshed with 'badaam-doodh' and Nawaz, his information wizard Mushahid Hussain and he settled down to talk and continued to do so until late afternoon when Kamran left to fly back to Karachi. Nawaz opened up by congratulating Kamran on his Mehrangate exposures which had recently appeared in the press, asking how the inquiry was progressing, and giving his own views. They exchanged information, each believing the other was being informed. They talked about how COAS Aslam Beg (sporter of shades in the shade) managed to get Rs 14 crore (140 million) from Yunis Habib, then of Habib Bank. This was deposited in the 'Survey Section 202' account of Military Intelligence (then headed by Major-General Javed Ashraf Kazi). From there Rs 6 crore was paid to President Ghulam Ishaq Khan's election cellmates (General Rafaqat, Roedad Khan, Ijlal Hyder Zaidi, etc.), and Rs 8 crore transferred to the ISI account. After lunch, Nawaz brought up the subject of how Aslam Beg early in 1991 had sought a meeting with him (then prime minister) to which he brought Major-General Asad Durrani, chief of the ISI. They told him that funds for vital on-going covert operations (not identified by Nawaz) were drying up, how they had a foolproof plan to generate money by dealing in drugs. They asked for his permission to associate themselves with the drug trade, assuring him of full secrecy and no chance of any trail leading back to them. Nawaz remarked that on hearing this he felt the roof had caved in on him. He told them he could have nothing to do with such a plan and refused to give his approval. The Washington Post had just broken Kamran's story and when I asked why it had not broken earlier, he told me how they check and recheck, and that in the meantime, he had been busy with the Mehrangate affair on which, between May and August, he had filed seven stories. We must again ask: was Nawaz capable of saying what he did? Yes. Did Kamran invent the whole thing? Not likely. Is The Washington Post a responsible paper with credibility? Yes. Everybody who is anyone in Washington reads it over breakfast. Has it ever made mistakes? Yes. What is so earth-shattering about using drugs to make money? Drugs have been trafficked and used for covert operations for ages, by warlords, statesmen, chieftans and generals, used to gain territory, to buy or to harm the enemy. Remember how the staid Victorians of the British empire used opium to China's detriment. Remember the Americans and how they traded drugs in Vietnam, and the Iran-Contra affair. Can we believe Aslam Beg? Judging by his behaviour and record, no. Are we expected to believe Asad Durrani, a clever professional spook? Of course not. Have all our generals been upright men and played it right? Of course, yes. Otherwise would they have ended up the way they did? Ziaul Haq? Governor, rich General Fazle Haq? How about dubious politician, rich General Aslam Beg, Lt General Javed Ashraf Kazi first chief of the MI and then of the ISI, Nawaz's ISI chief, General Javed Nasir, sacked by General Waheed Kakar, General Asad Durrani of MI and ISI fame, summarily sacked by General Kakar, rewarded and re-employed by Benazir as her ambassador in Bonn, and dangerous politician, the firebrand fundo General Hamid Gul. How did Ejazul Haq, son of the pious General Ziaul Haq, and Humayun Akhtar Rahman, son of the powerful General Akhtar Abdul Rahman, become tycoons overnight? The story related above was printed in Dawn in my column of September 23 1994, and was never repudiated by any of the honourable gentlemen mentioned. Kamran Khan is still writing and when Nawaz Sharif returned as prime minister in 1997, Kamran was awarded the presidential Pride of Performance medal for journalism which was pinned upon his chest by none other than Rafiq Tarar, former justice of the Supreme Court and then head of state. REFERENCE: We never learn from history By Ardeshir Cowasjee 21 July 2002 Sunday 10 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1423 http://archives.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020721.htm

Now, as we approach the promised October elections, our press carries many a story about how the intelligence agencies are transferring and 'placing' officials all over the country, and how the agencies are harassing certain individuals for not toeing the official line. We also read reports about how the 'placed' aspiring legislators and their 'supporters', all renowned as shady characters, are even managing to 'influence' men in uniform to gain support. On July 3, the governor of Sindh, Mohammadmian Soomro (my 'nephew' - he very respectuflly addresses me as 'uncle'), transformed his learned and efficient education minister, Professor Anita Ghulam Ali, into an 'adviser' and also sent home his irrigation minister, Ali Mir Shah. He then swore in Syed Ejaz Ali Shah Shirazi as irrigation minister and Sardar Muqeem Khan Khoso as agriculture minister (water tap and land ownership/transfer controllers), Khan Mohammad Dahri as education minister (organizing teachers at polling stations), Mian Abdul Baqi as auqaf minister (money to spend and distribute), and Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim as minister of local government (the works). My 'nephew' could not explain who chose these 'fixers', who ordered him to swear them in, and who is their 'godfather'. Nothing new. On April 25, 1994, this newspaper carried an editorial entitled 'Our secret godfathers', which opened up: "Two basic points emerge from General Aslam Beg's admission that in 1990 he took Rs 14 crores from the banker Younus Habib and that part of this money was spent by the ISI during the elections that year . . . . . ". And closed, saying ". . . it is time now for some sort of check on the rogue political activities of our intelligence agencies . . .". It was not time, and apparently it is still not time. In 1996, Air Marshal Asghar Khan filed a human rights petition in the Supreme Court against General Mirza Aslam Beg, former chief of army staff, Lt General Asad Durrani, former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence, and Younus Habib of Habib Bank and then Mehran Bank, concerning the criminal distribution of the people's money for political purposes (HRC 19/96). In this case, Lt General Naseerullah Babar filed an affidavit in court supported by copies of various documents and a photocopy of a letter dated June 7, 1994, addressed by Durrani to the then prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who, during her second term in office, appointed him as her ambassador to Germany, which reads:

"My dear Prime Minister,"A few points I could not include in my 'confessional statement' handed over to the director, FIA. These could be embarrassing or sensitive. (a) The recipients included Khar 2 million, Hafeez Pirzada 3 million, Sarwar Cheema 0.5 million and Mairaj Khalid 0.2 million. The last . . . . . . . [illegible] someone's soft corner that benefited them. (b) The remaining 80 million were either deposited in the ISI's 'K' fund (60 m) or given to director external intelligence for special operations (perhaps the saving grace of this disgraceful exercise. But it is delicate information.) [Noted in the margin of this paragraph, by the writer in his own hand: "This is false. The amount was pocketed by Beg (Friends)"]

"The operation not only had the 'blessings' of the president [Ghulam Ishaq Khan] and the wholehearted participation of the caretaker PM [Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi], but was also in the knowledge of the army high command. The last mentioned will be the defence of many of us, including Gen Beg (who took his colleagues into 'confidence' but that is the name that we have to protect).

"The point that I have 'wargamed' in my mind very often is: what is the object of this exercise? (a) If it is to target the opposition, it might be their legitimate right to take donations, especially if they come through 'secret channels'. Some embarrassment is possible, but a few millions are peanuts nowadays. (b) If the idea is to put Gen Beg on the mat: he was merely providing 'logistic support' to donations made by a community 'under instructions' from the government and with the 'consent' of the military high command. In any case; I understand he is implicated in some other deals in the same case. (c) GIK will pretend ignorance, as indeed he never involved himself directly. (d) Of course, one has to meet the genuine ends of law. In that case let us take care of the sensitivities like special operations and possibly that of the army.

"It was for these reasons that I desperately wanted to see you before leaving. I also wanted to talk about my farewell meeting with the COAS [General Waheed Kakar]. In the meantime you must have met often enough and worked out what is in the best interest of the country.

I keep praying that all these natural and man-made calamities are only to strengthen us in our resolve and not in any way reflective of our collective sins. With best regards and respects

Yours sincerely, Asad"Filed also in the court is a note, attached to Durrani's letter written in his own hand, reading: "YH TT Peshawar A/C Sherpao For Election 5,00,000; Anwar Saifullah for MBL deposit 15,00,000; Farooq Leghari PO Issued 1,50,00,000. Another 1,50,00,000 paid through Bank. There are a host of other political figures who received funds like Liaquat Jatoi, Imtiaz Sheikh."

Naseerullah Babar also filed in court a copy of a bank account sheet headed "G/L Account. Activity Report. Account 12110101 G. Baig (sic.)" The column heads read "Transaction, Date, Particulars, Debit, Credit." The numbered transactions took place between October 23, 1991, and December 12, 1993. The first transaction listed was "Cash-P.O. Karachi Bar Association A/C Gen. Baig (sic.), debit, 5,05,680" (advocate Mirza Adil Beg, Aslam Beg's nephew, the then president of the KBA, confirms that the KBA received the money). In January 1992 USD 20,000 was sold @ 26.50 and 5,30,000 was credited to the account. Thereafter all debits: "Arshi c/o Gen. Baig (sic.) 2,90,000; Cash paid to Gen. Shab 2,40,000; Cash Friends 1,00,000 [Aslam Beg's organization, FRIENDS, Foundation for Research on National Development and Security]; Cash TT to Yamin to pay Gen. Shab 3,00,000; Cash TT to Yamin Habib 12,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash paid through YH 10,00,000 ; Cash Friends TT to Salim Khan 2,00,000 ; Cash 1,00,000 ; Cash Towards Friends 5,00,000 ; Cash Asif Shah for Benglow 35,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash TT through Yamin for Friends 1,00.000 ; Cash paid to Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim 2,00,000 [he confirms having received the money from General Beg as fees and expenses for defending him in the contempt of court charge brought against him - PLD 1993 SC310] ; Cash paid through TT to Yamin for Friends ; Cash paid to Fakhruddin G Ebrahim 1,28,640 [he confirms receipt for fees/expenses for contempt case] ; Cash Guards at 11-A 10,500 ; Cash TT for USD 240,000 Fav. Riaz Malik to City Bank (sic.) New York 68,76,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000; Cash Guards at 11-A 10,500 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 10,000; Cash mobile phone for Col. Mashadi 28,911 ; Cash TT fav. Qazi Iqbal and M Guddul 3,00,000 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 10,000 ; Cash TT to Peshawar 3,00,000 ; Cash deposited at Karachi A/C EC [Election Commission] 3,00,000 ; Cash Guards 24,000 ; Cash TT to Quetta 7,00,000 ; Cash mobile bill of Col. Mashadi 3,237 ; Cash TT to Peshawar Br. 4,00,000 ; Cash deposited at Karachi Br. 4,00,000 ; Cash Guards 11,520 ; Cash TT to Peshawar for EC 2,00,000 ; Cash TT to Quetta for EC 2,00,000 ; Cash Guards 5,760 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 5,000 ; Cash A/C Guards 8,640 ; Cash th. YH 2,00,000 ; Cash A/C Guards 5,760 ; Cash TT to Salim Khan 1,00,000." The "host of other political figures who received funds" from an ISI account were revealed in the Supreme Court when Air Marshal Asghar Khan's petition was being heard. Inter alia, Nawaz Sharif received (in rupees) 3.5 million, Lt General Rafaqat [GIK's election cell] 5.6 million, Mir Afzal 10 million, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi 5 million, Jam Sadiq Ali 5 million, Mohammed Khan Junejo 2.5 million, Pir Pagaro 2 million, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada 3 million, Yusuf Haroon 5 million [he confirms having received this for Altaf Hussain of the MQM], Muzaffar Hussain Shah 0.3 million, Abida Hussain 1 million, Humayun Marri 5.4 million. During the hearing of the case, Aslam Beg, under oath, revealed the existence of a political cell within the ISI, whilst clarifying that though he was aware of the distribution of funds he was never personally involved. These documents and many others, filed in the Supreme Court, are a matter of public record. In this regard, reference should be made to paragraph 111, 'Corruption', of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the Proclamation of Emergency dated 14th, October, 1999 (approved for reporting), delivered by Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan and his eleven Brothers, sanctifying General Pervez Musharraf's takeover. It is a list presented by Attorney-General Aziz Munshi listing cases of corruption, some dating back to 1990, the lists of ISI payments, Babar's and Durrani's affidavits being amongst them. Should not all these corrupt, bribed political people who shamelessly accepted the people's money for their own political ends, and who have never denied having received such payoffs, not stand disqualified for life? Air Marshal Asghar Khan is still waiting to have his petition challenging the corrupt and clandestine use of public funds (pending since 1996) heard by the Supreme Court, as is also General Naseerullah Babar. They both have much to reveal. They are prepared to face the judiciary. REFERENCE: We never learn from history-2 By Ardeshir Cowasjee 04 August 2002 Sunday 24 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1423 http://archives.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020804.htm

The contents of my two previous columns in this series are not revelations; they are a narrative of facts on record in our Supreme Court and as reported in our press, dating back to 1994, and for these past eight years there has been no public refutation of any accusation levelled against the politicians who accepted the people's money or were involved in one way or another in the shenanigans of the ISI. Now, my friend Roedad Khan, perpetual bureaucrat steeped in the art of bureaucracy, yet again ready to serve his country, has reacted in a letter printed in this newspaper on July 26. Apparently, his innocence has been injured. He denies having had any connection with those in President Ghulam Ishaq's secretariat who were paid to 'fix' the 1991 elections. He has, however, said that though he does not wish "to comment on the substance of the matter," he "will do so at the appropriate time," which, hopefully, will be soon. His secretariat colleague, General Rafaqat, is listed as having accepted ISI funds to do the job. So it should seem unlikely that the other secretariat members such as Roedad Khan, Ijlal Zaidi and Chaudhry Shaukat would not be in the know. (Oddly enough, when last month President General Pervez Musharraf met a band of 'intellectuals' with whom to discuss the coming elections, the strategy to be adopted, and the constitutional amendments, these four retired members of Ghulam Ishaq's special assignment cell were amongst those summoned.) One other to respond, whose letter was printed on August 8, was Kunwar Khalid Yunus of the MQM, who has spent well over two years in jail on various occasions during the last decade and who, when he is out and about, is the press spokesman for his party. He categorically states that the MQM has never received any illegal amounts on behalf of its founder and leader, Altaf Hussain. Listed amongst the recipients of ISI funds was "Yusuf Haroon, Rs 5 million [he confirms having received this for Altaf Hussain of the MQM]" which Khalid does not refute. Yusuf, now in Karachi, has reconfirmed that he handed over the money to Altaf Hussain at Nine-zero. Obviously Khalid was not privy to the transaction. Last week, I was reminded by General Naseerullah Babar that I had ommitted certain names from the list of those 'anti-PPP politicians' who received payments from the ISI during the run-up to the 1990 elections rigged in favour of the IJI and Nawaz Sharif. These were: Jamaat-i-Islami Rs 5 million; Altaf Hussain Qureshi and Mustafa Sadiq Rs 0.5 million; Arbab Ghulam Aftab Rs 0.3 million; Pir Noor Mohammad Shah Rs 0.3 million; Arbab Faiz Mohammad Rs 0.3 million; Arbab Ghulam Habib Rs 0.2 million; Ismail Rahu Rs 0.2 million; Liaquat Baloch Rs 1.5 million; Jam Yusuf Rs 0.75 million; Nadir Magsi Rs 1 million; Ghulam Ali Nizamani Rs 0.3 million; Ali Akbar Nizamani Rs 0.3 million. Yet more payments: During the Mehrangate investigations of 1993 which led up to the Supreme Court case, Younas Habib of HBL/MBL, as per his statement filed in court (recorded in Karachi under section 161 Cr.P.C), disclosed that the following political and other pay-offs were made between 1991 and 1994: "General Mirza Aslam Beg Rs 140 million; Jam Sadiq Ali (the then chief minister of Sindh) Rs 70 million; Altaf Hussain (MQM) Rs 20 million, Advocate Yousaf Memon ( for disbursement to Javed Hashmi, MNA, and others) Rs.50 million; 1992 - Jam Sadiq Ali Rs 150 million; 1993 - Liaquat Jatoi Rs .01 million; 1993 - chief minister of Sindh, through Imtiaz Sheikh Rs 12 million; Afaq of the MQM Rs 0.5 million; 1993 chief minister of Sindh, through Imtiaz Sheikh, Rs. 01. million; 1993 - Ajmal Khan, a former federal minister, Rs 1.4 million; 1993 - Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister, Rs 3.5 million; 27/9/93 Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister, Rs 2.5 million; 26/9/93 Jam Mashooq Rs 0.5 million; 26/9/93 Dost Mohammad Faizi Rs 1 million; Jam Haider Rs 2 million; Jam Mashooq Rs 3 million; Adnan, son of Sartaj Aziz, Rs 1 million; Nawaz Sharif and Ittefaq Group of Companies Rs 200 million (photocopies of cheques and deposit slips, etc, already attached with affidavit at page nos. 42 to 73); Sardar Farooq Leghari 12/12/93 (payment set/off) Rs 30 million - 6/1/94 Rs 2.0856 million - 19/3/94 Rs 1.92 million." In 1997, in the Supreme Court, during the hearing of Human Rights Petitition 19/96 filed by Air Marshal Asghar Khan against the illegal distribution of the people's money by the ISI for political purposes, and also seeking the post-retirement court martial of General Mirza Aslam Beg, accusing him of gross misconduct by ignoring while he was chief of staff of the Pakistan Army such illegal distributions, Aslam Beg made the following statement: "I hereby take oath, and knowing fully well that I am saying this in the presence of Allah Almighty and this Honourable Court, submit that:

"ISI is Inter-Services Intelligence organization created by the government of Pakistan and had been directly answerable/responsible to the three Services through JCSC till 1975. In 1975 the then prime minister of Pakistan, through an executive order, created a political cell within the organization of ISI and by virtue of this change in the working of ISI it came directly under the control of the chief executive, particularly on political matters and for all the security matters concerning the armed forces ISI reported to the Joint Chief of Staff Committee. This status continues till today. ISI is virtually divided into two parts, one is [the] political wing and [the] other concerns matters relating to counter and strategic intelligence of the armed forces. During the days of Zia martial law, the ISI was reporting in all matters to the president, who, by virtue of his office as chief martial law administrator and president of Pakistan, controlled its office. "After the general elections of 1988, ISI was free completely from the influence of the army and since then ISI is virtually under the control of chief executive while remaining responsible to JCSC. In 1990 when the money was donated by Younas Habib, ISI was acting under the directions of higher authorities. As chief of the army staff at that time, when I was informed of this matter my only concern was that the money received by the ISI was utilized properly and an account was maintained and beyond that I had no concern with the money. "Although the director-general, ISI, is an officer in uniform but the chief of army staff has no authority to take action against him. The head of ISI was a person from army of which I was head at the relevant time." During the hearing of the Supreme Court case, General Babar filed an affidavit recording that Rs.140 million was collected by the political cell of the ISI from Younas Habib at the instance of General Beg, the then COAS. When the then head of the ISI, Lt General Asad Durrani, was approached, he provided certain details in an affidavit, but approached the then prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, asking her to 'shelve' the case. The affidavit was obtained by Rahman Malik of the FIA who was sent to Germany, where Durrani was then the Benazir-appointed ambassador, with stamped papers for him to sign. In the affidavit, Durrani confirmed that he had received instructions from COAS General Beg to provide 'logistic support' for the disbursement of donations made by certain 'businessmen of Karachi' to the IJI election campaign of 1990, and was told that the operation had the blessings of the government. The former attorney-general of Pakistan, Iqbal 'Groovy' Haider, representing General Babar in the Supreme Court, informed the court that the money was distributed not to political parties but to political individuals. It was common knowledge, he said, that the ISI was involved in politics. Lt General Hameed Gul, a former ISI chief, was on record as having boasted that it was he who created the IJI, and another ISI chief, Lt General Javed Nasir, had taken credit for creating the MQM Haqiqi. Air Marshal Asghar Khan's pending petition involving illegal payoffs and corruption during the run-up to one of our previous elections should be heard now by the Supreme Court before the next round of elections. It will then be up to our honourable election commission to ensure that if any of the personalities involved in the ISI payoff and Mehrangate scandals are filing to stand once again for election to our assemblies they are disqualified from so doing. This human rights petition has apparently been consigned to the Supreme Court morgue (for whatever reason). The air marshal has consistently written to all our successive chief justices of Pakistan asking that the case be heard, but nothing has happened. The last chief justice to show any interest in hearing the case was Sajjad Ali Shah who prematurely retired in December 1997 after having lost his battle with prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Since then, no chief justice has responded to the air marshal's repeated requests. We must hope that the next request that is being made this coming week will not be ignored by Chief Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, who, in 1994 was the federal law secretary and undoubtedly remembers the SROs he issued in this matter. REFERENCE: We never learn from history-3 By Ardeshir Cowasjee 11 August 2002 Sunday 01 Jamadi-us-Saani 1423 http://archives.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020811.htm

ISLAMABAD: The main wheeler and dealer of the ISI during the 2002 elections, the then Maj-Gen Ehtesham Zamir, now retired, has come out of the closet and admitted his guilt of manipulating the 2002 elections, and has directly blamed Gen Musharraf for ordering so. Talking to The News, the head of the ISI’s political cell in 2002, admitted manipulating the last elections at the behest of President Musharraf and termed the defeat of the King’s party, the PML-Q, this time “a reaction of the unnatural dispensation (installed in 2002).” Zamir said the ISI together with the NAB was instrumental in pressing the lawmakers to join the pro-Musharraf camp to form the government to support his stay in power. Looking down back into the memory lane and recalling his blunders which, he admitted, had pushed the country back instead of taking it forward, Zamir feels ashamed of his role and conduct. Massively embarrassed because he was the one who negotiated, coerced and did all the dirty work, the retired Maj-Gen said he was not in a position to become a preacher now when his own past was tainted. He said the country would not have faced such regression had the political management was not carried out by the ISI in 2002. But he also put some responsibility of the political disaster on the PML-Q as well. The former No: 2 of the ISI called for the closure of political cell in the agency, confessing that it was part of the problem due to its involvement in forging unnatural alliances, contrary to public wishes. Zamir’s blaming Musharraf for creating this unnatural alliance rings true as another former top associate of Musharraf, Lt-Gen (retd) Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani has already disclosed that majority of the corps commanders, in several meetings, had opposed Musharraf’s decision of patronising the leadership of the King’s party. “We had urged Musharraf many times during the corps commanders meeting that the PML-Q leadership was the most condemned and castigated personalities. They are the worst politicians who remained involved in co-operative scandals and writing off loans. But Musharraf never heard our advice,” Kiyani said while recalling discussions in their high profile meetings. He said one of their colleagues, who was an accountability chief at that time, had sought permission many times for proceeding against the King’s party top leaders but was always denied. Kiyani asked Musharraf to quit, the sooner the better, as otherwise the country would be in a serious trouble. Ma-Gen (retd) Ehtesham Zamir termed the 2008 elections ‘fairer than 2002’. He said the reason behind their fairness is that there was relatively less interference of intelligence agencies this time as compared to the last time. But he stopped short of saying that there was zero interference in the 2008 polls. “You are quite right,” he said when asked to confirm about heavy penetration of ISI into political affairs during the 2002 elections. But he said he did not do it on his own but on the directives issued by the government. Asked who directed him from the government side and if there was somebody else, not President Musharraf, he said: “Obviously on the directives of President Musharraf.” Asked if he then never felt that he was committing a crime by manipulating political business at the cost of public wishes, he said: “Who should I have told except myself. Could I have asked Musharraf about this? I was a serving officer and I did what I was told to do. I never felt this need during the service to question anyone senior to me,” he said and added that he could not defend his acts now. “It was for this reason that I have never tried to preach others what I did not practice. But I am of the view that the ISI’s political cell should be closed for good by revoking executive orders issued in 1975,” he said. Responding to a question regarding corruption cases that were used as pressure tactics on lawmakers, he said: “Yes! This tool was used, not only by the ISI. The NAB was also involved in this exercise.” Former corps commander of Rawalpindi, Lt-Gen (retd) Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani said majority of corps commanders had continued opposing Musharraf’s alliance with top leadership of the PML-Q. “Not just in one meeting, we opposed his alignment with these corrupt politicians in many meetings but who cared. Now Musharraf has been disgraced everywhere, thanks to his political cronies.” REFERENCE: The man, who rigged 2002 polls, spills the beans Umar Cheema Sunday, February 24, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=13159&Cat=13&dt=2/27/2008